Traditional Lake Lodge Style – Architecture and Landscaping in the Sebago Region
Maine Home and Design Magazine By: Katy Kelleher | Photography: Jeff Roberts | Styling: Janice Dunwoody There are houses around the world that become famous with local residents for their unique and stunning architecture. The type you might see in an HGTV special counting down a list of America’s most amazing homes. The Patton House, designed by Frank Klepitsch, and built by RP Morrison, is one of those very homes. This lodge-inspired Maine home sits close to Mount Washington and was designed to emulate the beauty and majesty of the mountain itself. The stunning home’s exterior features copper flashing, ornate corbels, and perhaps the most distinct feature: a spectacular curved roof, intended to mirror the stunning views of Mount Washington. The interior boasts two retracting floor-to-ceiling glass doors, a long copper-topped bar, and four bedrooms each designed to reflect one of Maine’s changing seasons. This extraordinary home truly took a village to build, a village that included Terrapin’s very own Mike Corsie. Terrapin’s part in the home came early in the design phase of the project, in fact, before the original home was even demolished. “We helped design and install everything...
read moreA Grand Tree for Kennebunkport’s Annual Christmas Prelude
Anyone that lives in the vicinity of Kennebunkport, Maine knows that the annual Christmas Prelude is one of the highlights of the entire year. The week and a half long celebration is filled with different events, activities, crafting, and perhaps the most exciting event of all–the Dock Square tree lighting and following fireworks show. Each year hundreds of people gather in the center of town to watch as the enormous tree is set aglow and topped with their signature red lobster. This year’s tree, and perhaps Kennebunkport’s grandest yet, was donated by Terrapin Landscapes’ own founder, Mike Corsie. The tree was plucked from the Corsie’s backyard after receiving a request from the Prelude organization. Mike wrote in a social media post alongside a photo of his smiling family There is no greater example of community spirit than that displayed by the organizers, and volunteers of [the Christmas Prelude]. For that reason, it was extremely exciting for me and my family to be asked to play such an important role in the event this year. In fact, this year may be one of the most imperative in maintaining Kennebunkport’s sense of community spirit, with the annual tree-lighting happening virtually to...
read moreDorm No More
With a long-overlooked, falling-down historic property in Kennebunkport, one couple took a renovation leap of faith. Standing at one of the highest points in Kennebunkport, where Cape Arundel juts into the sea, Lori Ray knew she had found something special. There, tucked into the woods—a stone’s throw from Ocean Avenue and a five-minute drive from the bustle of town—was a rambling 1905 structure laid with original heart-pine flooring and flooded in natural light. Marvin designed a new beveled window to bring natural light to the staircase. Note also the original commissioned painting in the style of Fernando Botero. Not that the place looked particularly special right then. “The property was in shambles,” Lori says. Except for a few tweaks to the kitchen, “the home had not received any remodeling since it was built, and it had suffered from its use as a tenement house for workers at The Colony Hotel,” just around the bend. “The home had been divided into several apartments, and it had two outdoor staircases to the second floor along with many makeshift add-ons,” she adds. In other words, the house had the bones of an elegant historic property, done over as a dorm. But Lori...
read moreEdible Landscaping and Foodscaping Ideas and Inspiration
Like so many of our friends and neighbors in Maine, members of the Terrapin Landscapes team are navigating brand-new terrain during the unfolding COVID19 global crisis. Whether we are continuing to perform essential tasks or sheltering with family, we are all discovering a renewed appreciation of home—and awakening interest in sustainable landscape designs that let us grow our overall self-sufficiency. While requests for edible landscaping elements were on the rise before coronavirus, we are now being asked about new or expanded gardens and irrigation systems, apiaries and bee gardens, chicken coops— even paddocks for goats and sheep! For great ideas on how you can make your backyard both beautiful and bountiful, read on. The all-natural beauty and bounty of a backyard garden Many of our clients are surprised to hear that productive home gardens do not need to look like traditional farms, with rectangular fields and parallel rows of plantings. In fact, the Terrapin Landscapes team specializes in designing smart and sophisticated gardens that blend seamlessly into the landscape during all phases of the growing season. Our experienced designers use fluid, organic shapes and soft edges, plants grouped in pleasing clusters, natural stone hardscaping accents, water features, and more...
read moreLow-Maintenance Plants (and Other Ideas) for Easy Landscaping
Maintenance-free landscaping is a goal for many of our customers living busy lifestyles, and the solutions we share at Terrapin Landscapes go way beyond planting perennials instead of annuals. To see how we turn our deep knowledge of the Maine ecosystem and timeless landscape design trends into easy-care outdoor planting and landscaping plans, read on! Less lawn, more meadow Here is a hard truth: there are few things on your property that take as much time and effort to maintain as a uniform, green grass lawn. For all its popularity, plush and inviting turf is awfully time-consuming and resource-intensive to keep up. Regular watering in the warmer months. Weekly mowing and trimming. Pulling out dandelions, seeding patchy spots, keeping the kids or your pets from burning spots in the grass or digging divots … if you are looking for a plant-it-and-leave-it landscaping solution, a lawn just isn’t it. Terrapin Landscapes knows how much Mainers love their lawns. (We love playing catch and croquet and running barefoot through sprinklers in the summer, too!) And most of our clients want some kind of lawn expanse on their property. If you have the available space and enough sun, however, we often recommend...
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